With 'Tassie', Danique Fennema (27) removes the dull image of walking tours. By telling surprising stories in an appealing way, people not only get to know the city better, but also each other.
Danique tells LINDA.meiden how she came up with the idea for her walking tours, where she gets inspiration from and what her plans are for the future.
Danique has had a love for cities from an early age. “Yet I never paid much attention to the places where I lived. Until one afternoon I had an appointment with my parents, but it was much too early. I decided to cycle into some random streets and came across a cool piece of art. My interest in the city was aroused.”
“The history of my own city turned out to be much more fun than expected. During my daily round I started to look around me a lot more. I started talking to people in the area about the history and old articles of it watchword to read. I had been making websites by profession for a while – so with the money I made from that I started putting together my own bags and launched a website.”
The bags, containing a walking route and several envelopes with interesting stories, are primarily a date idea. “During corona, many people went for a walk, and then I thought: what if they can go out while they get to know the city and each other better?, says Danique. “I'm really allergic to people who only talk about themselves, so I thought it would be fun to add questions. For example, with a story about a well-known teacher, the question 'Which teacher has made the most impression on you?'.
Danique quickly notices that this idea wasn't just fun for a date. “Family and friends were excited and wanted to try Tassie too. Especially since you become a guide yourself, can do the tour whenever you want and take as many breaks as you want.”
She collects the stories in Danique's tours in different ways. “I mainly talk to people who come from a certain neighborhood. I also watch a lot of documentaries and look for information on websites. But I also talk to guides and history teachers. I want locals to read new stories too, so always have the tours tested by them. If they know more than three stories, I have to look for a new, replacement story.”
“Sometimes it takes four weeks to make a tour, but sometimes three months. I make all the tours in Dutch cities myself, but some tours abroad – such as those of New York and London – are made by other people who know more about the city. I often find those people through TikTok, because they often share passionate videos about their city themselves.”
Shortly after setting up her own business, Danique gets the tip to start making TikToks. “'Tell the stories that just didn't make the tour,' a friend suggested. That way I could prove how much fun the stories in the tour were, without giving too much away.”
“I soon noticed that TikTok also creates a kind of community feeling among followers. The platform really serves as my business card. I think that automatically attracts a young audience as well.” Because although Danique's goal is to enthuse a young audience, she is not actively involved in this. “I think the name 'Tassie' already sounds younger than, for example, 'Walking Tour Utrecht'. In addition, all stories have a smooth and captivating tone of voice . That way my walking tours don't have a dull image at all.”
Danique receives a lot of positive reactions on TikTok. “I have heard a lot of nice experiences that have stayed with me. For example, I have a pride tour where several people have come out and people have asked each other to marry you. A couple also had a bag tattooed because they did the walking tour as their first date and are still together.”
However, sometimes there are also bad reactions. “People sometimes comment that they think it is too expensive, but a lower price is not feasible for me because I produce everything in the Netherlands,” says Danique. “If you go for a walk with the four of you, you will lose 8 euros per person. Because it is a total price for one tassie, it is cheaper with more people.” Fortunately, Danique has never had negative reactions to the stories themselves. “I sometimes say the wrong street name in a TikTok, but I have never been blamed for the stories.”
Danique has many plans and dreams for the future. “At the moment I am working on making an app. Then I also want to offer tours on an international level. The concept remains exactly the same – only digitally. I want it to be the new way to discover the city. So that no one will ask for tips on Instagram when visiting a city. With a walking tour you get to see a lot more different things than just the famous Insta hotspots.”
